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Chapter 81: I Lost?
The relentless assault, wave after wave, left Wu Bingji feeling breathless.
Meanwhile, Tang San swiftly dodged to a distance whenever the ice mist was sprayed. Although his movements were slightly slowed due to a layer of frost on him, the wind blade in his hand was still constantly changing.
One after another, wind blades appeared, then overlapped and compressed. At this moment, the wind blade in his hand, only a foot wide, had turned a deep dark green. It clearly contained a terrifying amount of energy.
This level of control shocked both Guan Longjiang and Mu Enqing. Tang San was only fifth-order, while Wu Bingji was sixth-order. One controlled the wind element, and the other the ice element. The ice element was relatively stable and easier to maintain compared to wind, and its power was more potent and suitable for both offense and defense. However, Tang San's control of the wind element was unquestionably superior, especially his method of compression, which required deep familiarity with the nature of the wind element. He hadn’t stopped after compressing it once; rather, he kept cramming more and more wind elemental energy into his blade.
They didn't know that under the Discerning Eye, the changes and fluctuations of the wind element were as clear as daylight to Tang San. In addition, having been a God King in the past, his understanding of the elements was incomparable to Wu Bingji's. With these advantages, controlling the energy was no longer a matter of elemental affinity but a matter of having sufficient spiritual power.
Upon closer inspection, one would notice that Tang San's right hand, which was holding the dark green wind blade, seemed to be rhythmically pulsating. With each pulse, the turbulent wind element became more stable.
When Wu Bingji finally neutralized the eighteen wind blades, he appeared disheveled. His arms were numb, and he had to recreate his ice spear three times. This was only possible because of his substantial control over ice elements, coupled with the remarkable defensive power of the ice attribute.
Watching the battle, Cheng Zicheng suddenly felt less upset about her loss. Even someone with Wu Bingji's cultivation level struggled to withstand the eighteen wind blades. In other words, it was only a given that she was unable to do that! Moreover, this fight revealed that Tang San had not used his full strength in their battle. Could his strength actually rival that of the eldest senior brother?
The dark green wind blade in Tang San's hand finally moved. It shot out of his hand at great speed, but for some reason, it seemed to float slowly through the air, flickering with faint green sparks.
Even Mu Enqing and Guan Longjiang felt a sense of danger when they looked at the blade.
Wu Bingji's expression turned grave. He didn't even consider dodging this wind blade. From Tang San's previous wind blade techniques, he understood that he couldn't avoid Tang San's wind blades even if he wanted to.
Wu Bingji took a deep breath, and his whole body instantly turned ice blue. On the other side, Tang San's face visibly paled after releasing the wind blade, showing signs of excessive exertion.
An ice shield formed in front of Wu Bingji, quickly turning from a paper-thin ice sheet into a thick wall. It was then followed by another one. The ice-blue light Wu Bingji radiated kept flashing as he rapidly conjured one shield after another, a total of nine, all positioned in front of him. The sight was spectacular.
Si Ru, who had appeared in the courtyard at some point, watched intently as the dark green wind blade flew toward the ice shields, his eyes sparkling. The narrow wind blade seemed disproportionate to the stacked nine ice shields, but he understood that creating this wind blade was a much more complex process than forming the nine ice shields.
To condense nine ice shields, one only needed sufficient cultivation. Wu Bingji, boosted by his ice elemental form, had gone all out to create them. Though the process was exhausting in terms of energy, it didn't require much skill.
However, compressing such a vast amount of wind element into a small wind blade requires a terrifying level of understanding and control over the element. And this was achieved by a child who is only nine years old? Oh, Mayor, you did strike first and strike hard!
Finally, the dark green wind blade collided with the ice shields.
Boom!
Almost instantly, the first ice shield was pierced through and shattered to pieces.
Like cutting through water, the dark green wind blade successively pierced each ice shield, leaving behind a trail of ice chunks and a cloud of cold mist.
As the battle reached this point, even the onlookers held their breath, watching this astonishing scene with wide eyes.
Bang, bang, bang!
The sixth, seventh, and eighth ice shields shattered in succession. The wind blade finally struck the last ice shield.
Bang!
Just as everyone held their breath and Wu Bingji's face turned pale, the final ice shield managed to resist. The highly compressed wind blade had finally exhausted its last bit of wind elemental energy and failed to penetrate the ninth ice shield, only leaving a deep mark in it.
"I lost," Tang San said, breathing heavily. His aura significantly weakened and cold sweat broke out on his forehead, a side effect of excessive mental exertion.
Controlling and compressing this wind blade was difficult for him, but it was also a meaningful attempt.
His cultivation had risen to the fifth order, and his mental strength had also increased due to the effects of the Discerning Eye. He wanted to try abilities that would allow him to fight above his level. Today's concentrated wind blade was precisely such an attempt.
Wu Bingji was momentarily stunned, then released his ice elemental body. Although his recovery ability was actually stronger while the ice elemental body was active, casting nine ice shields in succession had nearly exhausted his strength and he could no longer keep it up.
The young man looked at Tang San with a complex expression on his face and said nothing. Instead, he simply nodded.
Tang San responded with a smile.
"Phew—" It was only then that someone finally exhaled. Aside from the sound of heavy breathing, the courtyard was eerily silent.
No one spoke.
When Tang San had defeated Cheng Zicheng, the students hadn’t felt anything in particular about it. However, in this battle, facing his senior brother and the strongest student of the Redemption Society, he had pushed Wu Bingji to his limits. This would have been one thing if it was one of the older and more advanced students, but Tang San was at the fifth order and only nine years old! Wu Bingji, meanwhile, was nearly seventeen. So, how powerful would Tang San be when he turned seventeen? How powerful would he be when he turned twenty-seven...or thirty-seven?
Si Ru strolled over from the side, and upon seeing him, Guan Longjiang and Mu Enqing returned to their senses.
Si Ru approached Wu Bingji and asked, "Do you know where the difference between you and him lies?"
Wu Bingji nodded with a bitter smile. "In terms of control, especially elemental control, Little Tang is much stronger than me."
Si Ru nodded, saying, "You're not as good as him regarding mental strength and elemental comprehension. I don't know how he has cultivated the Wind Blade ability to this level, but facts are facts. In terms of elemental control, you should learn from him in the future. If you can elevate your control of the ice element to his level, you might be able to reach the seventh order just based on that."
"Yes," Wu Bingji nodded, then turned to Tang San, "I hope you won't hesitate to teach me, junior brother."
"Senior brother, you are too polite. I also want to exchange more ideas with you." Tang San was very interested in Wu Bingji's ice elemental body, wondering if it was a natural result of the Demonic God Transformation or if it was something he had developed by himself.
Tang San's performance in this practical combat class was undoubtedly impressive. The teachers' looks toward him had changed.
With that, it was time for Mu Enqing to discuss the results.
All the students lined up in a row, and Mu Enqing stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over everyone.
"Alright, let’s talk about how you did. First, Tang San versus Cheng Zicheng. Cheng Zicheng, the main reason you lost was a disparity in strength. Of course, that’s normal, so I won’t hold it against you. The problem is that you failed to use your advantages before losing. From the beginning, Tang San thought of countering your advantage in flight by not giving you a real chance to take off. Once you were in the air and you could properly use the speed of the Golden Roc Transformation, then even if you couldn't beat him, you should have been able to keep him busy for a while, at least. So, when you’re facing an opponent like him, your first thought should be how to take flight."